


So Complicated

by thewrittennerd



Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin, Sweet Valley High - Francine Pascal
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:20:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25432240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewrittennerd/pseuds/thewrittennerd
Summary: AU. The lives of Stoneybrook's favorite club and the Wakefield twins & their friends will collide when Kristin “Kristy” Thomas and Bruce Patman's past romance resurfaces. Kristy & Bruce will find their way back to each other though the road to it will be rocky and unsteady at best.
Relationships: Abby Stevenson/Charlie Thomas, Anna Stevenson/Shannon Kilbourne, Claudia Kishi/Ken Matthews, Dawn Schafer/Winston Egbert, Elizabeth Wakefield/Todd Wilkins, Enid Rollins/Alan Gray, Janine Kishi/Steven Wakefield, Jessica Wakefield/Oliver Luca, Kristy Thomas/Bruce Patman, Lila Fowler/Robert Brewster, Logan Bruno/Mary Anne Spier, Marguerite “Cokie” Mason and Bart Taylor, Regina Morrow/Cary Retlin, Stacey McGill/Sam Thomas
Comments: 5
Kudos: 3





	1. Cast of Characters

**Kristy Thomas Retlin Taylor – Schuyler Fisk (sports coach)**  
At 36, Kristy is one of Stoneybrook's favorite elementary school coaches and was one one half of the town's favorite couples, having married – and later divorced – Bart Taylor after college following a disastrous & brief marriage to Cary Retlin. They have one daughter named Kamryn, a son named B.J. and Kristy is pregnant with their third baby, which they hope is another girl. Kristy & Bart also live in Stamford and plan to share custody of the kids.  
  
**Mary Anne Spier Bruno – Rachael Leigh Cook (veterinarian)**  
Quiet, shy & serious Mary Anne Spier Bruno decided to leave her childhood behind and moved to New York with her husband Logan & their daughter Lucy. There she, Stacey & Abby run a medical/veterinary clinic together.  
  
**Claudia Kishi – Li Jun Li (artist)**  
The beautiful & creative artist Claudia moved to San Francisco after high school and now divides her time between San Francisco & Tokyo, Japan but makes occasional visits to Stoneybrook and Manhattan.  
  
**Stacey McGill Thomas – Bre Blair (doctor/single mother)**  
The one who struggled to tell the truth about her health – she's diabetic but is in great health/spirits about it – is now a doctor and lives in Manhattan with her estranged husband Sam Thomas (Kristy's older brother) and their daughter Corina.  
  
**Dawn Schafer Gray – Larisa Oleynik (environmentalist)**  
Dawn, the Earth Day enthusiast & environment caregiver, left Stoneybrook as soon as she graduated from high school though she & the other girls in the club keep in touch constantly. Dawn also used to be married to Alan Gray, who is still a bit of a nerd but he & Dawn had a good/happy marriage.  
  
**Shannon Kilbourne – Adrianne Palicki (writer, maybe teacher)**  
Kristy's neighbor & later friend, Shannon was one of the three later additions and associate officers of the club. Shannon is now a teacher at Stoneybrook Academy and keeps in touch with Kristy and the others. Shannon will also become romantically involved with Abby's twin sister Anna.  
  
**Abby Stevenson – Jenna Tatum (doctor/soccer coach)**  
Abby, the only other athletic female of the club, is now a doctor in the suburban area of Manhattan and runs a clinic with Stacey (who is also a doctor) and Mary Anne (who is a veterinarian). Abby will also develop feelings for/become romantically involved with Kristy's oldest brother Charlie early on in the story.  
  
**Logan Bruno – Austin O'Brien (also something in sports)**  
All of Logan's dreams came true when his parents moved him & Logan's two younger siblings to Stoneybrook and Logan meets Mary Anne. The two got married while in college – Logan for sports/recreation and Mary Anne in veterinary school – and are expecting their second baby, which is a boy.  
  
**Mallory Pike – Katie Leclerc (writer)**  
Mallory is the writer of the group and is best-best friends with Jessica “Jessi” Ramsey, the two of them having been a few years younger than the rest of the club. Nowadays Mallory works at & writes for Random House, Harper Collins and Disney-Hyperion.  
  
**Jessica “Jessi” Ramsey – Annie Ilonzeh (professional dancer)**  
One of the the two junior officers in the club, Jessi has been dancing for as long as she could walk and is now one of the first African-American women to be an instructor at American Ballet Company in Julliard.  
  
**Alan Gray – Aaron Michael Metchik (computer nerd/CEO of his own company)**  
Though he bumbled a bit to try & impress Dawn, it was the nerd who wins Dawn's heart in the end. They were happily married but both live in California and have split custody of Sadie & Alan Jr.  
  
**Bart Taylor – Tyler Jacob Moore (sports coach)**  
His & Kristy's relationship may have started out rocky but Bart is glad that his persistence paid off in the end because they were happily married and Kristy is expecting their second child. They plan to share custody.  
  
**Samuel “Sam” Thomas – Jay Harrington (police officer)**  
No one expected for pretty blonde-haired Stacey to fall for Kristy's older brother – nor will they expect Abby to end up with Charlie, the eldest Thomas sibling – but they also didn't expect for Stacey & Sam's marriage to fall apart the way it does. But Sam plans to fight to win Stacey's heart back.  
  
**Anna Stevenson – Jenna Tatum (professional violinist)**  
As a kid, Anna knew that her & Abby had different taste in school-related activities but it's not until Anna goes off to Julliard and has a very brief & steamy love affair with a female teacher that Anna questions her sexuality. She will make a connection with Shannon Kilbourne in this.  
  
**Charles “Charlie” Thomas – Taylor Kitsch (teacher)**  
Charlie, the eldest of the Thomas siblings, feels the most responsible for his younger siblings but knows they can handle themselves nowadays. And then he has a run-in with one of Kristy's friends from the club.  
  
**Marguerite “Cokie” Mason – Marla Sokoloff (interior designer)**  
The BSC's former enemy, Cokie has since become friends with Kristy & Mary Anne; the latter of whom introduced Cokie to her now deceased husband. Nowadays Cokie is a single widowed mother to her daughter Lainey.  
  
**Oliver Luca – Christian Oliver (construction worker/designer)**  
Though he and Cokie came close to dating, they decided that being friends would be best and they are also partners in the business firm they run together; she the interior designer and he the exterior designer.  
  
**Cary Retlin – Josh Henderson (physical education teacher)**  
His bad boy ways put behind him, Cary is now a physical education teacher and also works as a lifeguard in the summer while teaching First-Aid and CPR to the middle school kids.  
  
**Janine Kishi – Maggie Q (businesswoman)**  
The smarter older sister of Claudia, she went on to attend MIT and graduated with a degree in business. Though she and Claudia were once at odds, the loss of their Mimi brought them closer and they'll help nudge each other to find love; Janine with Steven Wakefield and Claudia with Ken Matthews.  
  
**Robert Brewster – Nathaniel Arcand (P.E. coach)**  


* * *

**Jessica Wakefield – Katheryn Winnick (model)**  
Though she's still sometimes a bit wild in the show biz, Jessica has tamed herself a bit and helps her frenemy Lila with raising Jessica's goddaughter Gracie.  
  
**Elizabeth Wakefield – Katheryn Winnick (journalist/reporter)**  
A successful journalist & reporter, Liz and her friends Enid & Winston work for the newspaper in San Francisco (though in different departments). Liz will reconnect with her high school sweetheart Todd Wilkins.  
  
**Lila Fowler – Carly Pope (model, single mother)**  
Pregnant at just 21 was Lila's biggest scandal as a model but she didn't reveal the name of the father to anyone and is raising her daughter Gracie on her own while continuing her career as a model.  
  
**Enid Rollins – Elizabeth Moss (with darker hair) (also a journalist/reporter)**  
  
**Winston Egbert – Jeremy Jordan (also a journalist/reporter)**  
**Todd Wilkins – Scott Eastwood (cop)**  
**Bruce Patman – Scott Speedman (police detective)**  
**Ken Matthews – Ryan Kwanten (sports coach)**  
**Steven Wakefield – Lee Pace (sports coach)**  
**Regina Morrow – Julie Gonzalo (undecided)**

**Couples:  
**Kristy Thomas and Bruce Patman  
Mary Anne Spier and Logan Bruno  
Stacey McGill and Sam Thomas  
Claudia Kishi and Ken Matthews  
Dawn Schafer and Winston Egbert  
Enid Rollins and Alan Gray  
Abby Stevenson and Charlie Thomas  
Anna Stevenson and Shannon Kilbourne  
Jessica Wakefield and Oliver Luca (from the BSC movie)  
Lila Fowler and Robert Brewster  
Elizabeth Wakefield and Todd Wilkins  
Marguerite “Cokie” Mason and Bart Taylor  
Janine Kishi and Steven Wakefield  
Regina Morrow and Cary Retlin


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**  
“Has anyone heard from Kristy?” a heavily pregnant Mary Anne Spier Bruno asks as Logan holds the back of the chair he scooted away from the table. His wife eases down into the offered chair and smiles at him holding their daughter Lucy. “It isn't like her to call a meeting and not bother to show up.”  
  
“I'm sure that one of her T-ball practices ran late,” Kristy's oldest brother Charlie pipes up as he brings in a tray of glasses, all of them filled with fresh lemonade.  
  
“I just came from there. She didn't show up for the practice,” Bart Taylor – who, although being Kristy's soon to be ex-husband, wasn't a part of the club – walks in saying. On one hip he carries B.J.; his & Kristy's four year old son.  
  
“Where on Earth could she be?” Abigail “Abby” Stevens asks; her slender athletic hands wrapping around a tall, coolly frosted glass of lemonade.  
  
Mary Anne and the others gathered in the living room of Watson & Elizabeth Brewer's mansion-style home – they had moved to Tuscon, Arizona with Nannie Thomas, David Michael and Emily Michelle when Nannie fell ill.  
  
Charlie lived in the mansion by himself so he'd rented it out to college students and, since he'd been feeling generous at the time, allowed Abby to live there. “If she didn't show up at the ball field, do you think she had a doctor's appointment?”  
  
“If she did, I would've known about it in advance,” Bart responds, his eyebrows furrowed in a deep crease; a frown on his lips.  
  
“Whoa there, hot shot, I don't mean to rain on your parade but…” Abby starts to say.  
  
The front door bursts open, revealing a frazzled-looking Stacey with Sam & Corina – Kristy shuffling along reluctantly behind. “We found her at the airport,” Stacey McGill Thomas explains to the group gathered & waiting.  
  
“Why was she at the airport?” Everyone asks in unison before Charlie emits a loud, shrill whistle; the sound making Abby – who'd been the one standing closest to Charlie – jump in fright.  
  
Charlie offers her a sheepish, apologetic smile before looking at the crowd gathered. “Anyone that isn't family, we'll have Stacey or Mary Anne call & fill you in later.”  
  
Abby shuffles out behind anyone that wasn't a part of the Thomas family though her gaze flickers back over her shoulder to meet Charlie's. The door is shut to hid Abby's forlorn look of longing, a gesture that is caught by none other than Dawn.

* * *

Meanwhile Bruce emerges in the doorway of the private jet that belongs to him – and were once his father Hank's – finding his ex-girlfriend Jessica Wakefield waiting for him. Although it seems that she is scheduling another photoshoot, Bruce can see that she's also being a mom; carefully French braiding their daughter Samantha's hair. Samantha's twin sister Stephanie sits patiently on the other side of her mother, instantly bouncing to her feet when she spots Bruce. Her small hand begins tapping the shoulder closest to her until Jessica looks up from her task, smiling in a soft & genuine manner; mouthing “be with you in a second”.  
  
Bruce nods his affirmation before picking Stephanie up when she came rushing over as soon as he'd eased down onto the asphalt. Before the twins were born, Bruce hadn't planned on settling down or having kids – let alone with Jessica. They were both loose cannons and, together, were an instant combustion. Yet parenthood changed them and and made them a better team than when they were in high school. “I missed you, Daddy,” Stephanie's soft, tiny voice pipes up; cutting into Bruce's deep, heavy thoughts.  
  
“I missed you too, Stevie,” Bruce replies with a smile, pressing a kiss to the top of Stephanie's head.  
  
“Daddy did your trip go okay?” the six year old Stephanie then asks curiously.  
  
Bruce smiles again. He didn't know what Jessica had told their twin daughters but he'd only mentioned to her about going to see some friends across the US. Just not where.  
  
It wasn't any of her business nor was it Samantha & Stephanie's business where Bruce goes or who he goes to see. “Yeah, sweetie, my trip went great,” Bruce finally responds, letting his thoughts go as Jessica finishes both of her tasks to walk over. The former couple greet each other with a kiss on the cheek and a soft smile. “Get everything taken care of?”  
  
“Yeah. You'd never think the beginning of the school year would be the busiest time,” Jessica replies, switching twins with him in order to sit down & braid Stephanie's hair.  
  
“Such is the life of you, Jessica Wakefield. A daughter, sister, mother, model, photographer & artist,” Bruce says with a smile.

* * *

“What were you thinking, Kris? And who was that guy with you at the airport?” Stacey asks in a soft tone as she sits across from her sister in law & longtime friend.  
  
“I was saying good-bye, Stacey, and his name is Bruce Patman. He's originally from Sweet Valley, California,” Kristy speaks up in the same soft tone that Stacey is using, her fingers pulling at the fringe strings on a couch throw pillow.  
  
“Why would you keep that from us, Kristin?” Charlie asks, his hand stopping her fervent movements of destroying the furniture further.  
  
“Because I was hoping it would remain a secret!” Kristy cries out in frustration, glaring angrily at those gathered. Both of her older brothers exchange a look of concern at her angry outburst but before Charlie has the chance to say anything about it, Mary Anne lets out a soft whimper from behind Charlie & Sam.  
  
“It's time,” Mary Anne says when all three Thomas siblings turn around to see what was wrong with Kristy's longest friend. Another sister they should've all had but didn't get though Karen & Emily Michelle filled that gap.  
  
Charlie rushes to retrieve Logan before the entire group head to the hospital with Mary Anne's husband leading the way.  
  
The conversation about Kristy's behavior would have to wait for a bit.


	3. Introduction

**Chapter Two**

For those of you who haven't met me, let me introduce myself.

My name is Kristin Amanda Thomas Retlin Taylor. It's probably a bit of a mouthful but you can just call me Kristy.

As teenagers, my group of friends and I started a club.

The Baby-Sitters Club, to be exact.

It all started when Elizabeth Thomas Brewer, the mother of yours truly, found herself in a dilemma when she couldn't get a baby-sitter to watch my younger brother David Michael.

And BOOM! The Baby-Sitters Club was born. Even though a new generation, aka my niece Corina and four of her closest friends, are in charge, I do miss it.

When the club started in our generation, there were only four members:

Me, Kristin "Kristy" Thomas, the founder & president.

Claudia Kishi, the vice-president. She earned this position because she was the first among us to have her own personal phone line.

Mary Anne, my best friend & next-door neighbor until Mom married Watson, was the secretary. Though timid & quiet, meeting and later marrying Logan Bruno brought her out of that shell.

And Stacey McGill rounds out the core original four. She was our treasurer. In our senior year of high school, most of our group thought Stacey would attend college to become a math genius or math teacher but surprised us all when she was accepted to the Med School at New York University. Then she & my older Sam rushed to get married because Stacey would wind up pregnant with Corina.

Later on we added four alternate officers & two junior officers:

Dawn, the first of 4 & later Mary Anne's stepsister, moved to Stoneybrook with reluctance. Though she formed an instant bond with Mary Anne, it was Stacey that Dawn forms a deeper bond with due to both of their mothers moving them to a new place after a divorce.

Logan, the second of 4 & only male member of the club in our generation, would become Mary Anne's first boyfriend and later on, her husband and was a great officer in the club.

Shannon Kilbourne, the third of 4 officers, was first introduced as one of my new neighbors when Mom married Watson and we moved to his house. For a brief time I'd always thought Shannon was into guys but when Jessi was at Julliard, she'd seen Shannon kissing Anna Stevenson.

Abby (Abigail) Stevenson, the fourth & final alternate officer. She joined the club although her twin sister Anna declined the offer, wanting to focus on her music studies again.

And our two junior officers:

Mallory Pike, the writer. She did get her first novel written by the time she was eleven & a half and it was published when she was twelve. From there she put writing on hold until college and became an overnight sensation.

Jessica "Jessi" Ramsey, always dancing while she walks. It wasn't a surprise to any of us when she joined Julliard but it was when she became the first African-American female director of ABA, aka American Ballet Academy.

That rounds out everyone in the club but I'm not finished. Each of us has family and mine's the biggest so we'll start there.

Charlie is my oldest brother, four years older than me. After our dad Patrick abandoned the four of us & Mom, he did his best to help raise us, Sam, me and David Michael and it inspired him to end up becoming a social worker.

Sam is my older brother, two years older than me. He became a cop to bring good back into the world much like Charlie and cut back a little on his hours to help Stacey raise their now fifteen year old daughter Corina.

David Michael is my younger brother, six years are between us. Just like Charlie, he's a social worker and they're both fantastic at their jobs so it's a win-win.

Then there's Karen, Andrew & Emily Michelle.

Karen Brewer is our stepsister and the same age as David Michael. She works as a second grade teacher at Stoneybrook Elementary and has been named Teacher of the Year five years running!

Add in her younger brother Andrew Brewer and you had quite the handful. But not anymore. Andrew just finished another year of med school. He wants to be a pediatrician, and we're all so proud of him.

Last but not least there's Emily Michelle, the little girl that Mom & Watson adopted from Vietnam. Though she's the youngest of our growing family, she is a hard worker and is currently attending college out in Tuscon.

Our next generation is: Corina, B.J., and the baby girl I am currently expecting. Mary Anne & Logan have two kids even though they're not part of the family and Dawn also has two kids, with Alan Gray.

Let's move back to siblings though.

Claudia's older sister Janine is between Sam & Charlie age wise and is a total genius. She's also a savvy businesswoman, CEO of her own company and lives in Tokyo, Japan.

Dawn's younger brother Jeff moved back to Stoneybrook when Dawn graduated from high school after a heated fight with their father & stepmom. He & Karen have also struck up a blossoming romance though it's been slow going for them both.

Think you've gotten your fill yet? We had better buckle down because I have more.

We'll start with Tiffany Kilbourne. Although Shannon, her older sister, and myself once didn't get along after we moved in with Watson, it was after Shannon gave us one of her Border Collie puppies that we settled our brief feud.

Vanessa Pike, one of Mallory's assortment of younger siblings, is currently studying journalism but plans to go into broadcast journalism unlike Mallory.

The rest of the Pike siblings are doing their own thing, either graduating from college or currently in college.

Rebecca "Becca" Ramsey sort of followed Jessi into dance but does freestyle and is working to become a dancing coach for celebrities.

I think that wraps it up for families so we'll go on to the husbands – or rather, former & soon to be former in Dawn's and my cases.

Bart Taylor, mine. It breaks my heart to do this to him after all that we've been through to get here. But we've had a good & happy marriage and I'm planning to stay here in Stoneybrook (and in Stamford) so we can share custody of our precious babies.

Alan Gray, Dawn's former husband. He's been a total sweetheart to her during their marriage, and before & after, and dotes on Sadie & A.J.

Cary Retlin, another ex of mine. Though the marriage was short-lived, it wasn't because of abuse, although my two overprotective older brothers think otherwise. Cary and I would have clashed over every little thing if we had stayed married but neither of us wanted that kind of life together.

_I am Kristin Amanda Thomas and this is my story._

* * *

Saying that my life is simple is an understatement. I work, at work, at home, being a father. I took a downward slide in the romance department but that was a mutual thing with both of the women I once thought I'd had a deep & passionate love story to share with.

Between my high school romance with Jessica that fizzled out and when she got pregnant with Sammie & Stevie, I had Regina Morrow.

Ever as feisty, she probably still carries a torch for me but I've done my best to move forward with my life so that I can focus on raising my girls.

Somehow, in a miraculous way, I stumbled upon _her_.

Kristin Amanda Thomas, to be exact. Though she hated her full name, she loved, and probably still does, the way I would say it.

I first met her through friends of hers, Alan Gray and Dawn Schafer (formerly Gray), when she'd come to California for Alan & Dawn's wedding.

It was before Jessica found out that she was pregnant with the girls so I was a free agent at the time. Kristy was dating, nearly engaged to, a guy whose name is Bart Taylor so I did my best to steer clear of her.

Yet it was an impossible feat, on both of our parts. Neither of us could possibly deny our attraction to each other or that we both needed a connection to hold onto with someone.

I'd once been told by my ex-girlfriend Regina Morrow that I could never settle for just one woman and after meeting Kristin, I know she's right.

I did my best to let Jessica fill that void left behind when I went my separate way with Kristin but it just didn't work.

But I suppose I should pause my sap story and tell you about the people in my life.

While my father was up there in age, his mind had been as sharp as a thumbnail size tack but he retired from the business right after Sammie & Stevie were born. And then the private jet he & Mom were on crashed into the lake near their remote log cabin up in the Rocky Mountains.

Devastated by the loss, and to keep from reeling & falling apart, I called the guys I now consider to be good friends of mine.

Todd Wilkins being the main one. Though we had interacted in different social circles all throughout junior high and high school, Todd was the first person I called when the jet with my parents went down. I never would have thought to call him back in high school but time & circumstances have changed us all since then.

Ken Matthews also helped me a bunch. As the representative attorney to Patman Industries, Ken was with me when I'd gotten the call about my folks. Before I had him call Jess, I had him call _her_. Despite everything, and with only a few things connecting their intense, rocky past to the present, I consider Alice Wakefield to be more than a mother & grandmother. More than a woman who scorned Dad back in the 1960's.

She's a friend, the confidant I didn't know I needed to listen when I had doubts & fears about becoming a first-time father. Alice sat there, and _listened_ for hours as I paced back & forth and just let me rant. If anyone called Alice would politely ask for them to call back, even when it was my phone ringing.

And then there are the women most important to Jess. Liz, Lila, Enid. Liz being the most important of the group for being Jessica's twin sister, and Lila her best friend. Enid fell somewhere in between considering that she was Liz's best friend but they still all got along.

And then there's Todd, Ken and Steven. Steven being the oldest Wakefield and only son, he dotes on his nieces; especially his namesake Stevie. There are many more people I'd like you to introduce you to but those are the ones I consider my dearest friends, whether they're my friends or Jessica's friends.

_I am Bruce Henry Patman and this is my story._


End file.
